---
title: HB 431. Consumer Inflation Reduction and Tax Fairness Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb431
cite_as: HB 431, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb431
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb431.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb431/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70281
date: 2025-02-18
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb431.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 431
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-12
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Todd Jones
- Alan Powell
- Jason Ridley
- James Hatchett
- John Corbett
- Beth Camp
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB431/2025
upstream_id: 1968195
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- interchange fees
- credit card fees
- consumer protection
- retail costs
- sales tax
---
# HB 431. Consumer Inflation Reduction and Tax Fairness Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 431
By: Representatives Jones of the 25th, Powell of the 33rd, Ridley of the 6th, Hatchett of the
155th, Corbett of the 174th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, the "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975," so as to provide for a limitation on
interchange fees charged by payment card networks for credit or debit card transactions at
retailers; to provide requirements for payment card networks in relation to such interchange
fees; to provide for a civil penalty; to provide for definitions; to provide for a short title; to
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Consumer Inflation Reduction and Tax
Fairness Act."
SECTION 2.
Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the
"Fair Business Practices Act of 1975," is amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"10-1-393.20.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Credit or debit card transaction' means a purchase of goods or services by a
consumer at a retailer in this state, an online purchase shipped to an address in this state,
or a purchase made at a location in this state made using a credit or debit card.
(2) 'Goods and services consumer purchase price' means the retail price paid by a
consumer for the actual goods or services provided by a retailer, excluding the taxes.
(3) 'Interchange fee' means a fee established, charged, or received by a payment card
network for the purpose of compensating the payment card issuer or payment card
network for its involvement in a credit or debit card transaction.
(4) 'Payment card issuer' means a person or entity that issues a credit or debit card or
such issuer's agent.
(5) 'Payment card network' means an entity that directly or through licensed members,
third-party processors, or agents provides the proprietary services, infrastructure, and
software that route information and data to conduct credit or debit card transaction
authorization, clearance, and settlement. Such term includes the system a person uses in
order to accept as a form of payment a brand of debit card, credit card, or other device
that may be used to carry out credit or debit card transactions.
(6) 'Retailer' means any person, business, or entity that operates a physical or digital
location in this state or that sells, supplies, or offers goods or services for sale directly to
consumers and accepts credit or debit card transactions in this state.
(7) 'Taxes' means the amount of any state and local sales and use and excise taxes
applicable to a sale of goods or services provided by a retailer in this state.
(b) No payment card network shall apply an interchange fee to a retailer based on an
amount greater than the goods and services consumer purchase price.
(c) A payment card network shall either exclude the amount of any taxes from the
calculation of interchange fees specific to each credit or debit card transaction or, on no
later than a quarterly basis, refund the amount of interchange fees proportionate to the
amount attributable to the taxes. Nothing in this Code section obligates a payment card
network to verify the accuracy or completeness of the applicable taxes at the time of sale
before calculating the interchange fee specific to each credit or debit card transaction.
(d) If a retailer is unable or chooses not to capture and transmit the applicable taxes at the
time of sale, the payment card network is not obligated to exclude taxes from the
calculation of interchange fees for such retailer's credit or debit card transactions at the time
of sale, and, upon receipt of proof of taxes collected by such retailer, the payment card
network shall provide the refund on a quarterly basis consistent with subsection (c) of this
Code section.
(e) A payment card network that willfully violates this Code section shall be subject to a
civil penalty of any interchange fees paid by the retailer on the taxes for the goods or
services provided by such retailer in a calendar year plus 10 percent.
(f) It shall be unlawful to alter or manipulate an interchange fee:
(1) By increasing the interchange fee rate that is imposed upon the portion of a credit or
debit card transaction;
(2) That is not attributable to taxes; and
(3) That is imposed to circumvent the effect of this Code section."
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 431 would bar payment card networks in Georgia from charging interchange fees on the sales tax portion of credit and debit card purchases, requiring fees to be based only on the actual price of goods or services.
### Plain-language summary
When a customer pays with a credit or debit card, the payment card network (like Visa or Mastercard) charges retailers an interchange fee, usually a percentage of the total transaction amount, including sales tax. This bill would stop that practice in Georgia by requiring payment card networks to calculate interchange fees only on the actual price of goods or services purchased, not on the taxes added to the sale.
Payment card networks would have to either exclude taxes from the fee calculation at the time of the transaction, or refund the tax-related portion of fees to retailers at least quarterly. If a retailer doesn't provide tax information at checkout, the network isn't required to exclude taxes upfront but must refund the difference once given proof of taxes collected. Networks that willfully violate the law face a civil penalty equal to the improperly charged fees plus 10 percent. The bill also bans networks from manipulating fee rates to get around these rules. It amends Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act of 1975 by adding a new Code section, and is titled the 'Consumer Inflation Reduction and Tax Fairness Act.'
### What it does
- Prohibits payment card networks from charging retailers interchange fees calculated on the tax portion of a credit or debit card sale, limiting fees to the goods and services price.
- Requires payment card networks to either exclude taxes from fee calculations at the time of sale or refund the tax-related fee amount to retailers at least quarterly.
- Allows payment card networks to skip excluding taxes upfront if a retailer doesn't provide tax data, but still requires a refund once the retailer supplies proof of taxes collected.
- Imposes a civil penalty on payment card networks that willfully violate the rule, equal to the wrongly charged fees for the year plus 10 percent.
- Makes it illegal for a payment card network to raise or manipulate interchange fee rates on the non-tax portion of a transaction in order to get around this new limit.
### Who it affects
Retailers operating physical or online locations in Georgia that accept credit or debit cards, payment card networks such as major card companies, payment card issuers, and ultimately consumers who make card purchases, since interchange fee costs can affect retailer pricing.
### Why it matters
If enacted, retailers in Georgia would no longer pay interchange fees on the sales tax portion of card transactions, potentially lowering their processing costs. Payment card networks would need new systems to track and refund tax-related fees, and violations could bring financial penalties.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 names the bill the 'Consumer Inflation Reduction and Tax Fairness Act.'
- Section 2 adds new Code section 10-1-393.20 defining key terms including 'interchange fee,' 'payment card network,' 'retailer,' and 'taxes.'
- Subsection (b) bars payment card networks from applying interchange fees to any amount greater than the goods and services purchase price, excluding taxes.
- Subsection (c) requires networks to exclude taxes from fee calculations or refund the tax-related fee amount to retailers at least quarterly.
- Subsection (d) addresses cases where retailers don't provide tax data at time of sale, still requiring quarterly refunds once proof of taxes is given.
- Subsection (e) sets a civil penalty for willful violations: the improperly charged fees for the year plus 10 percent.
- Subsection (f) makes it unlawful to manipulate interchange fee rates to circumvent the tax exclusion requirement.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-12)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-18)
- Sponsors: Todd Jones, Alan Powell, Jason Ridley, James Hatchett, John Corbett, Beth Camp
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70281
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb431.md?full=1